Final slideshows

visitors

I may very well be the new spokesperson for having an infant with older children. Some of you know that when we started this process almost 2 years ago, we thought we would adopt 2 older children. No infant. Well thankfully the Lord knows our needs better than we do.

Our first 4 kids came in 5 years, so suffice it to say, they weren't all that in the "help department"! Now my cup runneth over with help. Abe's siblings are amazing with him. They rock him, change him, play with him- he is truly each of their pride and joy.

I remember felling so badly for Isabelle and feeling like she missed out on a few "baby" things since she was #4. The other 3 kids all had a Barney stage, a Veggie Tale stage and Isabelle went straight to a Drake and Josh stage. Ok, maybe not Drake and Josh at 1, but she definitely didn't get to enjoy the "baby" shows because, well the other kids thought they were......... "baby"!! She wanted nothing remotely babyish about her life, so she quickly moved on to bigger and better things. :)

Today I was cleaning up from lunch and heard all the kids on the monitor. "Look at that!" "That is so cool" "Wow, did you see those fireworks!" all filled the room. I walked into my room to find all 5 of them entranced in Baby Beethoven.

Sweet baby Abe, you are loved. We simply can't imagine our lives without you.Avery was the only one that allowed herself to be documented watching this, but trust me- the others were equally enthralled. :)

I'm with ya Sista!! When we adopted the first time, our older 3 were 7, 8 and 10. They were AWESOME with the baby. So awesome that I couldn't wait for them to go to school so I could have some time with her!! We adopted another infant 17 months later. Now we just came home with 4 more from Ghana (8,7,5,2). The older kids are 10, 11 and 13 now. They are amazing little spirits. I started adopting for myself and the adopted kids, now I see that it was even more for our bio kids. Their outlook is actually an OUTlook now, and they are patient, compassionate and giving. Way more now than they ever would have been. It was (obviously) the best thing we ever did. Now the older 3 have informed me that they are praying for a baby brother to make it an even 10 kids (and you know what happens when kids pray... oh boy)!!

I am sure they are the best big bro/sis ever !!! my Em is crying tonight because she wants a real baby sister to keep ... This was harder on them than I thought ...What amazing lessons God is teaching us ... I can't believe we met almost a year ago ... I was at the airport today to see Eliana !!!

What a sweet family. I love seeing the older kids with Abe. I can only pray that our transition (with our little one goes as nicely (and read tons of books). My kids are spread out (3y and then 4y) but this spread (close to 10y) will be large. I love that it will help my older children be young or appreciate the simple things of being a child (going for an ice cream cone). Thank you for sharing.

My son, when he comes home occasionally from college, will get right down on the floor and snuggle with his three younger sisters...at that point I can't tell who is enjoying the cartoon of choice for the day more:)....them or him:)!!!!!

You are so right Emily ... there is something very powerful about watching our older bio kids with our adopted babies. I think they show us that love can be instant and should be unconditional. They show us how to willingly help with a servant heart. They understand that brotherhood has no borders and nothing to do with blood lines. I can only imagine the seeds this experience will plant for your children. What incredible people you are raising for HIM! Thank you for sharing these precious glimpes of Team Alexander!

Hi Emily ... just saw your post on Lainie's FB. I couldn't beleive it! We made the Nashville connection with Corrine & Mary Lauren ... now maybe we can fill in the blanks with our Texas connection! Blessings, Kim